Method for ironing flatwork



Aug. 21, 1956 H. v. MALNlcK 2,759,277

METHOD FOR IRONING FLATWORK Filed June 22, 1953. 2 Sheets-Sheet l www . :inventor Cttorneg Aug. 21, 1956 H. v. MALNICK METHOD FOR IRONING FLATWORK Filed June 22, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snventor Gttomeg 2,759,277 Patented Aug. 21, 1956 2,759,277 METHOD FR IRGNING FLATWORK Helene V. Malnick, Studio City, Calif. Application June 22, 1953, Serial No. 363,031 4 Claims. (Cl. 382) This invention relates to means and a method for ironing cloths, particularly damp or wet llatwork, without the specific application of ironing pressure.

Hand ironing of atwork is, of course, time-consuming and economically expensive. Ironing by use of a mangle, while quicker and less expensive, nevertheless entails arduous work.

It is an object of the present invention to iron ab work, as it comes from the washing machine, wringer or dryer, by stretching the same or, at least, smoothing the same over smooth and flat surfaces and subjecting the ilatwork and the surfaces to heat.

Another object of the invention is to enclose the damp iiatwork and the surfaces on which the same is placed to confine the heat and, thereby, reduce the ironing time.

The invention further contemplates simultaneous drying and ironing of wet atwork by subjecting the same to an atmosphere of dry heat while smoothed over hat surfaces.

The invention also has for `its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawings merely show and the following description merely describes embodiments of the present invention, which are given by Way of illustration or example only.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. l is a cross-sectional view of one form of an ironing cabinet embodying features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial front elevational and partial sectional View of said cabinet.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a shelf used in the invention.

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram of preferred electrica1 means to heat the interior of the cabinet.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another form of `ironing cabinet.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan sectional view as taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary front view of still another form of ironing cabinet.

The device that is illustrated in the several forms of the invention comprises, generally, a cabinet 10 provided with means 11 to heat the interior thereof, and a plurality of members 12 affording llat surface to engage wet ilatwork smoothed thereon.

With particular reference to Figs. l to 3, the cabinet preferably comprises immovable rear and side walls 13 and 14, respectively, a top wail 15 adapted to be swung open on hinges 16, and a front wall 17 adapted to be swung open on hinges 18.

In accordance with common practice, said walls 13, r14, 15 and 17 are made to be heat-insulating so that the interior 19 of the cabinet may be electively heated with minimum heat loss through said walls. If desired, the wall 17 which constitutes an access door, may be provided with a window 20 enabling inspection of the interior of the cabinet without the need for swinging the door open and, thereby, dissipating the interior heat. The wall 15 constitutes a swingable cover and may be i'iXedly connected to walls 13 and 14, if desired.

The cabinet is provided with a bottom 21 which is used to enclose the heating means 11. The latter, in any suitable manner, includes a heating element 22 based on or embodied in a dielectric and heat-insulating core 23. As shown, the heating means is enclosed at the top by a perforated plate 24 to prevent accidental contact therewith, the perforations giving access of heat generated by said means to the cabinet interior 19.

Said heating means may be switch controlled in any suitable and common manner so that all or part thereof may be placed in Operation, as desired. As shown in Fig. 4, a thermostat 25, shown also in Figs. 1 and 2, may be connected to control heating element 22. By placing said thermostat in the cabinet interior 19, said element can be controlled thereby according to the temperature desired .in said interior. inasmuch as wet flatwork within the cabinet will give up a material amount of moisture during drying and ironing, and it being desired to maintain a drying atmosphere in the cabinet interior, suitable vents 26 may be provided in the cabinet walls, where most practical, to allow escape of such moisture.

ln Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the members 12 are shown as shelves 27 mounted on slideways or tracks 28 carried by the cabinet walls 14. Mounted in this manner, said shelves are adapted to be either wholly removed from the cabinet when door 17 is open or partly projected therefrom. In either case, the upper surfaces of said shelves can be presented for receiving atwork. The front-to-back ydepth of these shelves is preferably less than the depth of the cabinet interior 19 and, by providing suitable back stops 29, the position of the shelves may be limited to create front and back spaces between the shelf ends and the rear and front walls of the cabinet. Thus, ample heat circulation around and between the shelves is obtained.

The shelves are preferably metallic or of a heat-absorb ing material, and the same may be painted or covered with baked enamel or the like, as desired. In any case, said shelves are preferably iiat and smooth.

As shown in Figs. l and 3, articles of flatwork, while still containing considerable moisture, are placed on the several shelves, either in single or plural plies. Because of their wet condition, said articles can be smoothened out on the shelves and made to adhere thereto to eliminate Wrinkles. if an article is to be folded, the layers or plies are smoothened successively either by hand or by a suitable squeegee implement to insure intimate contact with the shelf.

After the flatwork is in place on the shelves, the shelves slid back into the cabinet, and the heating means turned on, the dry heat generated will thoroughly dry `and iron said flatwork. Practice has shown that low heat in a range between and 150 F. during a period of eighteen to twenty-four hours will suffice for the pres ent purpose.

Since the fibers of the fabric of which the flatwork articles are comprised swell when containing moisture and are generally quite soft, the smoothing or stretching cperation while placing the same on the shelves, results in a slight stretching of said articles. Since the moisture causes said articles to cling or adhere to the shelves during the drying process, said articles become tautened and, when dry, have a dat condition quite comparable to that obtained by use of mangles. Since most flatwork is made of cotton, the same is ironed in the present cabinet and by the method described to be comparable to conventionally ironed atwork.

In the form of Fig. 5, the cabinet mounts the members 12 so that they can pivot and also be raised to an out-of-the-way position, giving access to one member at a time. In this form, the cabinet walls are immovable except for a front access door 30, a fixed sloping top Wall 31 replacing the cover 15 of the earlier form.

The members 12 are each provided with a rear axle 32 that extends transversely of the cabinet interior 19 and each said axle is provided with end wheels or rollers 33.

These rollers are engaged in vertically disposed guide channels 34 on opposite sides of the cabinet. Thus, said rollers serve as trunnions on which the members 12 may be pivoted and as rollers enabling raising and lowering of the members. The forward edge of each member 12 is provided with a flange 35 and the members may be stacked one above the other, as in the lower portion of Fig. 5 when in use to dry and iron flatwork placed thereon, the rollers 33 and flanges 35 serving to space the members.

A retractable detent 36 is employed as a rest for -the flanged edges of the members 12, when the latter are raised as shown in the upper portion of Fig. 5, to afford access to the uppermost member of the stack below. The raised or elevated members are arranged to be disposed at a rearwardly and downwardly sloping angle to afford ample space, when door 30 is open, to spread tlatwork on the top member of the stack. By retracting detent 36, the lowermost member 12a of the elevated members is freed for movement toward and upon the stack below, the -detent intercepting the other elevated members as before. By the means shown, the members 12 can be successively lowered to receive ilatwork on their upper surfaces. Thereafter, the cabinet is heated and functions in the manner described for the form of Figs. 1 to 3.

As shown in Fig. 7, the members 12 of the cabinet 10 may be vertically disposed so that atwork may be draped over the top edge 37 substantially as shown. The cabinet construction may be similar to the form of Figs. 1

and 2. Members 12 may be immovable, in which case the same are spaced so as to accommodate the hands of the user while smoothing the atwork against the sides of said members, or they may be forwardly movable or tiltable to facilitate placing of the atwork thereon.

In the forms having the horizontal members 12, the flatwork articles, particularly those that are folded, may be weighted by loose plates 38, as shown in Fig. 1. These plates are optional.

The members 12 may be relatively moved in other ways. The heat supplied by the means 11 may be cirv culated by forced draft means such as a fan.

While I have illustrated and described what I now contemplate to be the best modes of carrying out my invention, the constructions are, of course, subject to modication without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is, therefore, not desired to restrict the invention to the particular forms of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims,

Having thus described the invention, what I claim and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Means to simultaneously dry and iron wet atwork comprising an insulated housing provided with means to heat the interior thereof, a pair of spaced guide tracks mounted in said housing, a plurality of smooth-surfaced members horizontally disposed within said housing and adapted to receive articles of wet flatwork, each of said members having a vertical liange along one edge and an elongated bar secured to the opposite edge, a pair of rollers mounted on said elongated bar and engaged within said guide tracks to move said members vertically, said flange and said rollers serving to space said members apart `in horizontal position, and a smooth plate adapted to be placed upon the mentioned wet flatwork to press the same against said smooth-surfaced members.

2. Means to simultaneously dry and iron wet iiatwork comprising an insulated housing provided with means to heat the interior thereof, a pair of spaced guide tracks mounted in said housing, a plurality of smooth-surfaced members horizontally disposed within said housing and adapted to receive articles of wet atwork, each of said members having a vertical ange along one edge and an elongated bar secured to the opposite edge, a pair of rollers mounted on said elongated bar and engaged within said guide tracks to move said members vertically and permit the same to be pivotally swung to an inelined upward position Within said housing, said flange and said rollers serving to space said members apart in horizontal position, retractable means to releasably retain said members in the inclined position, and a smooth plate adapted to be placed upon the mentioned wet flatwork to press the same against said smooth-surfaced members.

3. Means to simultaneously dry and iron Wet flatwork comprising a housing provided with means to heat the interior thereof, a plurality of spaced smooth-surfaced members disposed within the housing and adapted to rcceive articles of wet flatwork, each of said members having an elongated bar secured to one edge, a pair of rollers provided on the ends of said bars, and a pair of spaced guide tracks in said housing in which the rollers are slidably engaged whereby said members may be moved vertically, and permitting the said members to be swung to an inclined upward position within said housing.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which retractable means is provided to releasably retain the members in the inclined position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 329,797 Wickham Nov. 3, 1885 511,097 Shepard Dec. 19, 1893 620,793 Mitcham Mar. 7, 1899 1,073,729 Barnard Sept. 23, 1913 1,589,642 Harris June 22, 1926 2,270,031 Biby et al. Jan. 13, 1942 2,288,616 Freund July 7, 1942 

